In China, 28,000 rivers have disappeared

Why did 28,000 rivers in China suddenly disappear?
Startling government survey sheds new light on Chinese water crisis
By Amar Toor on April 3, 2013 09:09 am

For years, China claimed to hold an estimated 50,000 rivers within its borders. Now, more than half of them have abruptly vanished.

Last week, China’s Ministry of Water Resources announced the results of a three-year survey of the country’s waterways, revealing startling declines in water supply. According to the census, there were 22,909 rivers in China as of 2011, each covering an area of at least 100 square kilometers. That marks a decrease of about 28,000 from the government’s previous estimates, raising fears among environmentalists and putting Beijing on the defensive.

China’s longest rivers, the Yangtze and the Yellow, have each seen declining water levels in recent years, but the government’s survey — its most comprehensive to date — may shed new light on the breadth and gravity of the country’s crisis.

Orwell Rolls In His Grave, featuring MCM – Buy the DVD

About News From Underground

News From Underground is a daily e-news service run by Mark Crispin Miller, a Professor of Culture and Communication at NYU. It is based on his belief that academics, like reporters, have a civic obligation to help keep the people well-informed, so that American democracy might finally work.

If you'd like to receive updates delivered to your inbox daily, sign up for News From Underground Alerts:

Help News From Underground!

Message from Mark: "I am a one-man operation, although assisted greatly by some volunteers, and, now and then, by people paid by others for one-time projects. There is no shortage of skilled, dedicated folks out there who want to help me. There is, however, nothing I can pay them with, unless you decide you can contribute something."